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"Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." We’re all familiar with this from the Declaration of Independence, but there’s much more to our natural rights foundation. Learn from the Founders and Old Revolutionaries.

Responding to Federalist claims that rejecting ratification would lead to danger, chaos and potential ruin, Patrick Henry took the other side, “it is the fortune of a free people not to be intimidated by imaginary dangers” and urged the addition of a bill of rights first.

Incorporation - the legal doctrine whereby the Supreme Court applies the Bill of Rights to the states, was not part of the original, legal meaning of the Constitution. Instead, it arose out of the 14th Amendment, and the court first started applying it “selectively” in 1925.

Going from despotism - living under the largest government in history - to liberty - isn’t going to be a cake walk. But we’ve got some great teachers on how to get from here to there: the Founders and Old Revolutionaries. In their words - telling the story of our foundation, our path to liberty.

One of the grievances in the Declaration of Independence, the founders and old revolutionaries not only rejected the notion of “arbitrary” government, they considered it the definition of a tyranny.

The founding generation repeatedly warned us about the great dangers to liberty posed by large standing armies. The best way to guard against that danger? Prevent the need for them - one of the leading principles behind the 2nd Amendment.

Few people understand the root cause of the economic troubles we face, but the founding generation knew the situation well. For many, the “evils of paper money” were tyrannical and despotic. Or, as George Washington warned, it would “ruin commerce, oppress the honest, and open a door to every species of fraud and injustice.”

Approved unanimously on June 12, 1776, the Virginia Declaration of Rights, drafted primarily by George Mason, is one of the most important founding documents that many people have never even heard of. It influenced the text of the Declaration of Independence as well as the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Writing to James Madison about Shays’ Rebellion in early 1787, Thomas Jefferson said that “a little rebellion now and then is a good thing.” He considered it an essential check on government power - a warning that violations of the constitution and liberty might lead to serious trouble for rulers. Writing to James Madison about Shays’ Rebellion in early 1787, Thomas Jefferson said that “a little rebellion now and then is a good thing.” He considered it an essential check on governmen...

The founders and old revolutionaries fought a long, bloody war to free themselves from an arbitrary and tyrannical government based on a “living, breathing” constitution, only to see the people eventually embrace the very system they struggled to throw off.